1Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?2If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.3Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.4With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.

Mumon's Comments If anyone understands what Baso said, he has mastered Zen.

If you meet a sword master on the road, give him the sword. Unless you meet a poet on the road, do not offer a poem. If you meet a man, tell him the three quarters of the Way, and never tell him the rest."

Present a sword to a swordsman;
Don't offer a poem unless you meet a poet.
When speaking say one third of it;
Don't give the whole thing at once.

Maybe it means that when we communicate with others there is a tendency to say everything that pops into our mind, but it's important to be mindful of where the other person is at and be helpful. We have a tendency to believe this or that, but the only reality is what is helpful.

"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

Mazu generally taught that mind is buddha. Then there was neither mind, nor buddha. Dazhu Huihai was quite satisfied with the first teaching, others preferred the latter. But without understanding the meaning it's pointless to debate the words. The meaning obviously is to see mind's true nature, what else is there? Then look at the different teaching methods used.

A monk asked, "Master, Why do you say that Mind is Buddha?" Mazu said, "To stop babies from crying." The monk said, "What do you say when they stop crying?" Mazu said, "Neither Mind, nor Buddha." The monk asked, "Without using either of these statements, how would you instruct someone ?" Mazu said, "I would say to him that it's not a thing." The monk asked, "If suddenly you met someone who was in the midst of it, then what?" Mazu said, "I would teach them to realize the great Way."

1Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?2If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.3Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.4With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.

Changed my mind, Astus. Or perhaps I should say, I decided to share more of what I actually understand this case to be about, instead of giving way automatically to someone else's viewpoint.

So far, the process shown here has been interesting o say the least. The first responses were of a spiritual materialist nature: wanting "credentials" as CTR would say ("give me a certificate"). The second set of responses have been of an emotional nature - responses about the 'crying baby'. But this case is not about credentials or about emotion. It is about method, and the completion of training.

And I disagree with you Astus, that it comes down to a preference of method. Mazu changed his teaching methods from "This very mind is Buddha" to "Neither mind, nor Buddha" for a very good reason. Whether he did it because of his own evolution as a teacher, or because he saw the deleterious effects of teaching as if "this very mind is Buddha" wrought, we'll never know.

I think Ta-mei is very self-indulgent by continuing to assert "this very mind is Buddha". When you teach that way, you are in great danger of mistaking content for process. " Neither mind, nor Buddha" denies the practitioner the opportunity to get lost in content. This is an extremely important step.

Wu-men understands this with his comment, "if you can see through this clearly, your Zen training is complete."

This case is not about certification or about emotional reactions. It is about not getting lost in content as a final step of Zen training. This ability is what distinguishes a Zen master from a Zen teacher who leads people astray. Interestingly enough, it was dzogchen that clarified this for me.

End of post.

Last edited by MalaBeads on Sat Dec 03, 2011 11:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

I am well aware of my idiocy. I am also very aware that you too are an idiot. Therein lies our mutuality.

Zen masters in India said that mindlessness is Buddha. A Zen master of China said that mind itself is Buddha. He was not saying that the mind that jumps from one thing to another and the intellect that gallops off in any direction are what Buddha is.
Students in recent times often misunderstand this point. Some say, "Once you return to it, mind itself is Buddha, and there is not another life." If you understand in this way, you are the same as nihilistic heretics.

"Mind is Buddha" -
what religious teaching is this?
If you want to stop a child's crying,
give it a clout.

Chan awakening need to be certified by already awakened masters and buddhas are predicted by other Buddhas.

Or else you'd have sheet load of people on the internet claiming they know deez and they know dat. Not to mention more "suspcious" gurus that deludes people, and you can't even diss them because you'll probably goto hell.